-I can honestly say, this is the first RAW I’ve looked forward to in quite a while.....

-WWE Open.

-RAW Open.

-RAW is LIVE from Philadelphia, Pa, former home of ECW (no, not that one, the other one). Tonight, Triple H faces Randy Orton and Umaga in a handicap match! But right now, it’s time for a divas battle royal.

(1) Divas Halloween Battle RoyalWe’ve got all the girls from last night’s costume contest in their costumes for this battle royal. Except Torrie has an Eagles uniform instead of Redskins. I’d like to see Jillian bring K-Fed in has her boyfriend, since she seems to be imitating Britney lately. Victoria, in her sumo suit, fell on Layla, who was then eliminated. Maria’s cat tail was tied to the ropes, and she can’t move. Victoria hit a mini-Bonzai Drop on Brooke, and she was tossed. Michelle McCool clapped Jillian’s ears with her fake babies and threw her out. Torrie then threw Maria out. Mickie got rid of Michelle McCool. Mickie and Melina battled on the apron, and both ended up falling off. It was down to Victoria, Kelly Kelly and Torrie. Torrie knocked Victoria over to a big pop. The other two divas tried and successfully threw Vicotria over the top, and Torrie followed her out, giving the win to the ECW diva.

Winner: Kelly Kelly at 4:11.

-After the match, Beth Phoenix came down to the ring. JR billed her as the woman who injured Candice Michelle last week. Beth got the double-arm chicken-wing on Kelly, lifted her up, and dropped her.

-Clips of the WWE Title Match at Cyber Sunday last night aired. Shawn Michaels is on his way to the ring, and we’ll hear from him next.

[Break]

-Tonight, Jonathan Coachman faces Hornswaggle in a one-on-one match.

-Shawn Michaels comes out to speak on ‘dis. No arriba la raza though. He’s wearing a baseball cap. No word on if it’s to cover his rapidly balding scalp. HBK thinks Orton intentionally got himself disqualified last night. No, that hadn’t even OCCURRED to me! He’s getting a re-match I guess, and he wants it now. The crowd is up for that, but I’m guessing Vince isn’t, as he’s on his way to the ring. Yellow-checked suit-jacket. Yikes. Vince took an informal poll with the crowd, asking if they want Shawn to get his re-match tonight. Vince did a lot of gravelly yelling, saying Shawn wants to be the greatest of all-time. But there’s one thing he wants as much as the championship: Revenge. Deep down, McMahon said, there’s a part of Shawn’s soul that is rotten to the core. Michaels admitted it, having to sit home again on someone else’s terms. He wants to make Orton suffer and take him out in the prime of his life. McMahon mentioned Survivor Series, and the crowd started booing. He’s got his re-match. As the two stared at each other, HBK went for a superkick. It purposely missed, but came close enough to knock Vince on his fanny and scare him a bit.

[Break]

-The two diva search contestants are backstage. Apparently, they have ants in their pants, as they can’t stand still.

(2) Hardcore Holly & Cody Rhodes vs. The World’s Greatest Tag TeamShelton backed Holly into the heel corner, but Holly fought both men to get out of it. Charlie tagged in and tagged Holly with some rights before Holly hit a few chops. Holly reversed a whip into the ropes and nailed Haas with a dropkick. Tag to Cody got some boos, then hit Haas with a shoulderblock off the top. Fans got bored and started a “Y2J” chant during the match. Cody hit a DDT in the ring for the pin.

Winner: Rhodes & Holly at 2:35. Holly gave no love to Cody after the match.

-Backstage, Umaga and Randy Orton had a discussion, no doubt about their 2-on-1 Handicap match against Triple H, still to come.

[Break]

-JR and King talked about the injury Candice Michelle suffered last week on RAW. Then they showed footage of it, noting that she broke her clavicle and would be out 6-8 weeks.

-Beth Phoenix was backstage with Todd Grisham. He didn’t even get to ask his question before Beth cut him off. She has no regrets about her actions the past two weeks. All the girls want to dress up like they’re something she’s not. Candice spent time training, and it was all for nothing. Beth suggested Candice go back to Wisconsin to live her life instead of returning to WWE.

-Elsewhere, Trevor Murdoch was reading the WWE Magazine when Mickie James came by. Ah, so CRZ was right. She thanked him for pushing her out of the way last week in their tag match. Trevor said he just did what he had to do. Before they were about to ask each other on a date, Lance Cade came upon them. Murdoch said it was a whole lotta nothing, but Cade wasn’t buying it. Cade said Murdoch cost them the match because his head wasn’t in the game. Murdoch will be in Cade’s corner in a singles match later tonight.

-William Regal and Vince McMahon were backstage. Regal questioned why Triple H needed to be in another brutal match. Vince said it’s personal. McMahon wanted to know where Hornswaggle was. Regal brought him in and Vince requested a moment alone with his son. Vince had a hear-to-heart, saying he was trying to get Horny to stand on his own two feet. He said he had a theory that every man should be knocked on his ass once in his life. I guess getting socked by Bret Hart counted as Vince’s one. He said you have to keep getting back up until they don’t have it in them to knock them down again. Vince said if Hornswaggle is a McMahon, he has to learn to hate. If you can’t hate, you can’t be successful said Vince. Hornswaggle grunted a few times as he was sent away to the ring to show Vince he can hate. Strange segment.

-Coach vs. Hornswaggle is next.

[Break]

-Another Save_Us video aired. Does that mean tonight’s not the night?

(3) Jonathan Coachman vs. HornswaggleThe two were ready to go at it, but there was no referee. Mick Foley then came out as the special ref. Hornswaggle hugged Mick’s leg and Mick gave him a low-five. Foley checked Coach all over for weapons. Coach backed Horny into a corner, but Hornswaggle stomped on Coach’s foot and dropkicked his knee. He rode Coach like a horse. Coach grabbed Horny’s beard and Coach put Hornswaggle on his shoulder. Hornswaggle bit his way up, then Mick whipped the McMahon into Coach’s crotch. Hornswaggle missed an elbow from the bottom rope. Coach went to punch Hornswaggle in the corner, and elbowed Foley. Coach then hit a double-axe handle from behind on Mick and went outside to get a chair. As he was about to hit Hornswaggle, Foley grabbed the chair and punched Coach. He grabbed Socko, put it on, then threw it into the crowd. He grabbed another, littler sock, gave it to Hornswaggle, who then grabbed Coach’s crotch with it. Foley clotheslined Coach down. Hornswaggle went to the top and hit the tadpole splash for the win.

Winner: Hornswaggle at 3:40.

-Todd Grisham introduced Triple H backstage for an interview. Grisham said it doesn’t look good for Triple H this week. Apparently, he doesn’t watch the show that he’s on. On paper, Triple H admitted that the odds may not be in his favor. He said if he goes down tonight, he’s taking Orton and Umaga down with him.

[Break]

(4) Paul London vs. Lance CadeQuick cross-body by London got a near fall. Cade came back and hit a belly-to-back suplex. Cade smashed some forearms into the back of London, and it sounded like some guys from the crowd were having a “Kennedy!” shouting contest. Only in Philly. Inverted atomic drop, followed by a standing hurricanrana by London. Kendrick flew through the ring and over the top onto Murdoch. A sunset-flip by London got two, and a dropkick followed that. Hard spinebuster by Cade and that’ll do it.

Winner: Cade at 2:11.

-After the match, The Highlanders made their way to the ring. They got in the ring and stared down Cade and Murdoch. Then the beat up London and Kendrick. They hit a sprinboard reverse-suplex on each team member. They stared at C&M, who were on the ramp at this point, to end the segment.

(5) Jeff Hardy & D.H. Smith vs. Carlito & Mr. KennedySmith has new, more generic music. Crowd popped big for Kennedy after they had been asleep for much of the night. A shoulderblock by Kennedy put Hardy down, then Hardy came back with a clothesline. Carlito tagged in and laid some shoulders into Hardy’s gut in the corner. Hardy fought out and hit (not really, but CCC sold it) that reverse mule kick. Smith was brought in and he worked the left arm of Carlito. Carlito hit some chops then showed some fire with some left hands in the corner. Smith ended up clotheslining Carlito over the top rope. Hardy cut Kennedy off in the ring and threw him out. Time for a break.

[Break]

Carlito and D.H were in the ring out of break. He was working on Smith’s leg. Apparently, the D.H doesn’t stand for Davey (for his dad) and Harry (for him), rather Davey and Hart (since he spent so much time with that family). Kennedy tagged and continued working on the leg. Kennedy cheap-shotted Hardy and they didn’t even double-team Smith; instead, they switched without a tag. Referee Chad Patton made them tag when he got his attention back on the match. Smith was finally able to make the tag to Hardy, who was a house-a-fire. Whisper in the Wind graze Carlito and Kennedy broke up a pin attempt. He hit Smith in the knee, but D.H. avoided a running kick. Twist of Fate to Carlito, followed by a Swanton and it’s over.

Winners: Hardy and Smith at 10:46. Eh. Hardy wasn’t on his game, and most of the match was the heels working over Smith’s knee.

-Orton/Umaga vs. Triple H....tonight.

[Break]

-Santino Marella came out. He complained about travel screwing up his trip to Cyber Sunday, and also prevented him from giving Stone Cold Steve Austin a piece of his mind. Santino started in on The Condemned again, but glass broke and Austin’s music hit. But on the Video-Tron was a tape of Santino dressed as Stone Cold. Stone Cold Santino admitted that Real Santino was right about The Condemned. He even took a sip of Coors Light....but only a sip. Then gave an awkward look at the camera and walked off. Real Santino thanked Stone Cold Santino. Maria came out to the ring. She said “he”will be here next week. The crowd groaned, knowing she was talking about Stone Cold. Santino didn’t get that, and asked who would be here, “Tom Hanks, with the AIDS?” Santino said if he was going to show, he’d be here by now. Then the segment ended. Looks like it’ll be 0-for-2 tonight.

-Still to come, the main event, Triple H vs. Orton and Umaga.

-The Diva Search finalists are coming to the ring. They better make it short, because with no Austin and as it seems, no Jericho, the crowd ain’t going to put up with the divas for long.

[Break]

-Todd Grisham stood at the top of the stage and the boos started as soon as he started talking. This is going to be brutal. He brought out Brooke, then Eve. Grisham told the girls the accolades past diva-search winners have accomplished. The winner: Eve. You can all move away from the edge of your seats now.

-Another Save_Us video aired. Now they’re just taunting us.

-Randy Orton came out for the main event, which is right around the corner.

[Break]

(6) Randy Orton & Umaga vs. Triple HTriple H went toe-to-toe with Umaga in the middle of the ring, to no reaction. Orton came in and went after Triple H. Trips pulled Orton to the outside and sent him head-first into the barricade. He then hung Umaga throat-first on the top rope. He hammered away at Orton in the ring. Umaga ran in and Triple H side-stepped a splash, as umaga hit Orton. He went for a pedigree on Orton, but Umaga headbutted him. More punches from Umaga on Triple H. Orton then followed suit. Triple H fought out of the corner but Umaga caught him and dropped him with a Samoan Drop. Orton stomped away at Triple H and Umaga hit a splash. Punches again on Triple H in the corner. At this point, HBK ran in for the DQ. Triple H hit a low blow on Umaga, and they double-clotheslined the big man over the top.

Winners: Orton & Umaga at 2:52.

-Vince and Regal watched backstage. Regal said Vince must be disappointed that things didn’t work out his way, but McMahon said everything turns out like he wants it to, when he wants it to. He said, next week, one night only, the return of DX. McMahon then turned stone-faced.

(edited by geemoney on 29.10.07 2356)

(edited by geemoney on 30.10.07 0020)My No Mercy Hangout Report and More!: Experience It

I think I'm going to start my own site to tie into the whole SAVE_US222 thing.

As in www dot shitorgetoffthepotVince dot com.

Wonder if anyone's snapped up that domain name yet? Sheesh.

(edited by Divakind on 29.10.07 2020)Never argue religion, politics, wrestling or the merits of individual wrestlers--no one else will recognize you for the expert you obviously are and resent your insistence that you're right and they all have shit for brains.

I am so glad I didnt pay to go to this show. Talk about blue balls. That crowd got screwed. No Jericho. Not even an Austin appearance? And to top it all off, they got the lame Diva Search finals. Why does WWE hate Philly so much?

Argg. I actually taped this AND watched it live because I was convinced Jericho was coming back and seeing as his first entrance to the WWE oh so long ago was the best ever, I was prepared for greatness. All I got was crap. This show sucked. And now, with HHH and HBK tangled with Umaga and Orton, and Hardy tangled with Kennedy and Coach with Horswaggle and anyone else not worthy of Jericho, I tend to think he is not showing up until AFTER Survivor Series. There is no program for him to go into now and each week we expect him to show and he doesn;t. But it is serving it's point - people like me who stopped watching are back watching. All I can say is the payoff BETTER be Jericho or I am done for good.

Fry crack corn and I don't careLeela crack corn I still don't careBender crack corn and he is greatTake that you stupid corn!

I did buy a ticket to this on the hopes of seeing Jericho. And instead I get Diva Search, WGTT and London/Kendrick wasted on three-minute specials (and the latter getting punked by the Highlanders again), Coachman vs. Hornswaggle, and more HHH egowank leading to a ... sigh ... DX reunion. It's like going out for ice cream and getting a cone full of chlamydia.

After the show ended, we got a HHH/HBK vs. Umaga/Orton tag match that went exactly as you'd expect it to.

By the way, on Heat, Kenny Dykstra got beat by a guy I've never seen before, with a big Carlito-esque fro and red pants with what looked like "ATLAS" lettered on one leg. Anyone know who he was? He was pretty entertaining in the ring. [EDIT: Never mind, found him online: Atlas DaBone from OVW.]

(edited by Shem the Penman on 30.10.07 0047)"The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. Now do you begin to understand me?"

Originally posted by Wpob All I can say is the payoff BETTER be Jericho or I am done for good.

Hold up a second here...but the payoff is going to be whatever WWE wants the payoff to be when THEY WANT to pay it off.

Maybe it's because I'm not "insider/smarky"-enough, but personally, I didn't understand how the whole SaveUs-222 thing meant Chris Jericho to begin with. I'm not saying it's not meant to be him, but HYPOTHETICALLY if it isn't, it's not Vince's fault that fans are assuming that it is Jericho without some legit proof (i.e. -- a promo that is unquestionably about/in reference to Jericho (not HBK or others as was also theorized), or even a consistently/widely disseminated WON article).

I'm not trying to be a jerk here, but I think it is incredibly rude and arrogant to be upset in such a manner because you didn't see on TV or at the live event someone who wasn't directly advertised or definitely known to be there ahead of time.

Jericho has said in a lot of the interviews he's done since this promo aired that when he comes back, it's going to be a surprise when he feels ready for it and (hopefully) not when the fans are expecting it. And personally, that's how I'd like to have it. There needs to be that element of suspense in wrestling that makes you want to tune into after-PPV shows like this and into the program in general. As much as some may not like to hear it, constantly speculating in the hopes of being "ahead of the sports entertainment curve" or chanting crap like "You sold out" and "Hey-hey goodbye" song BEFORE the news has even publicly broken (Lesnar/Goldberg) ruins that unpredictability which makes wrestling fun and worth watching.

This isn't to say I don't read the news and like to know what's up, but I don't smark-out at events or read anything more into the news than it needs to be.

And with all due respect, you don't have to watch WWE. On so many boards (and here), people say that if this doesn't happen or if so and so doesn't go over, they'll stop watching. Stop watching then. Just like when people say it's CRZ's board and he can do/act however he wants, it's Vince's WWE -- and unless you own WWE stock, his only obligation is to try and put on an entertaining show in regards to what he's advertised for the people who bought a live ticket and tune in. Now, whether he succeeds or not, of course, is debatable.

OK, rant over. PS -- this is not a complete write-off for WWE actions, for the record.

I was there too (and met Jericho at his book signing earlier in the night). I was there of course, expecting his return...but it was almost worth it for the reaction of the 3 dudes in front of me to the Stone Cold breaking glass (when he didn't show)...and I'm sure I enjoyed "a mule that is for purchase" and "Tom Hanks, with the AIDS" far more than Just Another Stunner.

After the bonus tag match, Hunter & Shawn did some amusing improv for the crowd for 10 minutes, joking about how they were keeping Vince and everyone there late, ending with a beatdown on Regal and the Old School DX "Suck It" monologue (with a riff about "the millions not watching at home right now, but were watching a little while ago").

P.S. - the crowd was deader than dead for the entire Diva Search winner announcement...crickets, drowned out by Scott Weiland.

I'm beginning to wonder if this isn't just a bigger version of when Jericho put the TNA logo on his home page just to get people riled up. Having finished his book I can imagine him sitting around with the Raw schedule and saying "fuck it, I'm going to make the internet's collective brain explode" and scheduling his book tour just right to coincide with RAW. And the whole save_us thing will just be a leadup to Test's return or something like that.

At this point I would take Whattaburger's advice and "just quit watching" if it wasn't for Santino Marella, the greatest man on the planet. Nothing goes with ass-whip like low-fat frozen yogurt. At this point I wish that he was the target of those promos, then at least I would know they wouldn't end up being a disappointment.

I will say these promos have been going on long enough that really nothing short of Jericho coming out and forming a stable with The Rock, Stone Cold, Bret Hart, and Santino Marella would make me feel like the wait was worth it. I like a long buildup as much as the next guy, but this just feels more like people who have no idea WTF they want to do once the nifty teaser spots end.

I did really enjoy Beth Phoenix tonight, and the way they are working Candice's injury into the whole angle.

Originally posted by WhattaburgerHold up a second here...but the payoff is going to be whatever WWE wants the payoff to be when THEY WANT to pay it off.

WWE's in a bad place here. They never promised or hinted at Jericho but fans started anticipating him. Then those Save Me promos started with little clues (like Grand Slam, et cetera) that seemed to have to do with Y2J, and since people like and miss the number four they put two and two together.

What is the WWE supposed to do if it's not Jericho? Deny it? You drive away the fans watching (and perhaps upping your buyrates) in order to see him return, and that's even if they believe the company line. Given the trust fans extend to a wrestling promotion, a mention on WWE.com that the promo "isn't about Jericho" would be taken as nothing more than spin and damage control, similar to how it was denied several days before the PPV that Tazz would be Kurt Angle's surprise opponent at Royal Rumble '00. We all know how that turned out.

So the WWE's on shaky ground here if they're actually planning something else. They can't really be blamed for lighting or even fanning the flames, but they will be. And to be starkly honest, if they don't deliver Jericho to me soon I'll be damned pissed off. Already halfway there in fact.

Honestly, I'm unhappy that Jericho didn't show up. I was also there live and it sucked getting kicked in the balls again. I'm not going to stop watching, but I can't help feeling saddened that I didn't get Jericho.

There were a few dudes in my section in the nosebleeds that chanted Kennedy ALL NIGHT LONG. I would have been more upset, but when the Kennedy match started, the whole crowd started going crazy. And after a mostly dead crowd throughout the whole night (other than when the Mex-Am Connection of Hacksaw and Super Crazy showed up on Heat), I got into the match because of the crowd.

So I think this Raw was much like Cyber Sunday for me. It was mostly blah, but the final few segments (in this case the Hardy/Kennedy match followed by SANTINO and the DX shenanigans) saved the show.

I kept seeing the number '19' in tonight's promo, which could be a countdown for a number of days (which ends on November 16th) or weeks (March 10th 2008).

Of course, with the possibility of, say, three weeks without episodes of Raw, and assuming they would only have a countdown on days where there were episodes of Raw, it's not inconceivable that the big reveal would be the day after Wrestlemania.

That's just conjecture, and probably means nothing, but speculating is half the fun, I say.

Bad Raw after a bad PPV however the hype for next week is pretty good.

Victoria really played that clone of Yokozuna and Riskhi pretty well, and while the cameras only gave a second of it, she did the stinkface to someone on the corner ropes.

Beth Phoenix is an unbelievable talent but if they don't get a few others who can hold their own in the ring, she'll never get over with the crowd. Perhaps a few handicap matches to hold her over or even a male vs Phoenix match.

Is it me or does Raw seem to be lacking talent also? The same faces each and every week now.

I thought the Highlanders were in a position for a push but once again, they are relegated to Heat.

Everyone knew how the main event was going to turn out.

What are they going to do with Umaga after the feud with HHH is over?

And for tomorrow... poor Kane, he's got to carry the action for three 400+ pounders on ECW tomorrow night. I was on the Big Daddy V bandwagon at first but I think his knees are shot these days.

When are they going to end the Hornswoggle angle? I was asking this last week also.

Kennedy needs some OVW work. Seriously. He's great on the microphone and bad in the ring. I don't think even Hardy can carry a good match with him.

Originally posted by AlexI kept seeing the number '19' in tonight's promo, which could be a countdown for a number of days (which ends on November 16th) or weeks (March 10th 2008).

Of course, with the possibility of, say, three weeks without episodes of Raw, and assuming they would only have a countdown on days where there were episodes of Raw, it's not inconceivable that the big reveal would be the day after Wrestlemania.

That's just conjecture, and probably means nothing, but speculating is half the fun, I say.

edit: Also, I predict a heel turn next week.

(edited by Alex on 30.10.07 0256)

Ill add to the speculation...

The day after Survivor Series is the 19th...all of his book signings are done, and by then Orton will have killed every Legend on the roster...much like the Rock saying he had noone left to beat and Goldberg entered, that would be the best time for Jericho to debut.

The real question becomes, what will HHH be doing? Will they FINALLY scrap the Hornswaggle thing and go with Kennedy against HHH?

I'd LOVE to see HBK vs. Hardy in a IC Belt/mutual respect series of matches, ending in a ladder match at WM.

Ship Umaga to Smackdown for Batista to deal with, and Edge and Taker can tangle for the belt AND the undefeated streak at Mania.

Edge doesn't have a WM unbeaten streak --- he lost in the Money in the Bank last year. It was a pretty dumb booking decision since Edge/UT streak vs. streak is one of the few not-a-foregone-conclusion Wrestlemania challenges they could promote for Undertaker.

Anyway, onto RAW ISN'T JERICHO. As much as I'd love to see Jericho back, why does everyone assume that his 'return' will be anything close to full-time? Maybe as a part-time special attraction like Undertaker from 2004-2006 or as a Mick Foley cameo role, but given his desire to keep up his extra-curricular activities, isn't it unlikely he will be a week-in, week-out performer on Raw? That's why I'm not too worked up about the delay in his return --- I just don't think it'll be a company-changing event. It's also a big leap to suggest that Jericho will be booked smartly anyway.

This Cade/Murdoch/Mickie angle is off to an oddly serious start. I WANT MY COMEDY